Model Congress
by Mr. Clements
A team of seventeen Upper School boys argued, rebutted, and thoroughly enjoyed their day at Packer Model Congress last Saturday, May 20.
A team of seventeen Upper School boys argued, rebutted, and thoroughly enjoyed their day at Packer Model Congress last Saturday, May 20.
These legislators began preparation in November. Each student wrote his own bill to improve our imperfect world, covering topics as distinct as changing voting for president to create an instant runoff, defunding NASA, and putting prisoners to work outside prison walls. Divided into committees of ten to fifteen students from St. Bernard’s and other schools, our boys discussed around ten other bills as well as their own. At the end of a thoroughly enjoyable day, we also walked off with a handsome clutch of awards, an endorsement, if any were needed, of the articulate and intelligent (and vehement) nature of argument that the average St. Bernard’s boy can deploy. Specifically, three students were given an honorable mention (Henry B. and Otis E. in seventh grade and Sammy P. in eighth); four more earned the top honor, a “Golden Gavel” as best legislator in their committee (Corwin C. in grade VII and Jameson C., Peter J., and Spencer M. in grade VIII).
Finally, special thanks to our hosts at Packer, who greeted 425 students from some twenty different schools. It was a well-organized day, in spite of a catastrophic electrical fire on their street late Friday afternoon that knocked out the half of the school that they were going to use for our meeting. They were up most of the night but fully ready for us at 8:00 a.m. Saturday.
